Bank of Ghana to Sanction Customers who issue Dud Cheques
The Bank of Ghana has issued a notice to all banks, specialized deposit-taking institutions and the general public on additional measures put in place to counter the issuance of dud cheques. A dud cheque is a cheque that is worthless because the person who has written it does not have enough money in his or her bank account.
If you are the receiving customer, a dud cheque means you do not get the money specified on the cheque in time because the paying customer does not have enough funds available.
The problem with dud cheques
Issuance of dud cheques cause unnecessary delays in the receipt of funds and affects business decisions and personal finance. The Bank of Ghana, noticing how some customers are flouting the rules in place, is thus advising all banks, specialized deposit-taking institutions, and the general public to adhere to the additional measures stipulated in the notice released on the 11th of March 2021 and punish any customer who falls foul of the law.
Dud cheque sanctions
Izwe has taken notice of the Bank of Ghana’s directive that “under Section 313(A) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) as amended it is an offence punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment of up to five years for any person to issue a dud cheque.”
Specific dud cheque sanctions in detail
- A bank or SDI shall issue a Warning Notification to a customer who issues a dud cheque for the first time and report the offence to the credit reference bureau. The bank shall place the customer under surveillance for a minimum period of three (3) years. The warning should be documented and may be in the form of a Short Message Service (SMS), an email or any other established means of communication between the bank or SDI and that customer. The notification shall also indicate further sanctions that will be applied in the event of subsequent breaches.
- Where a customer issues a dud cheque for these second time within three (3) years of the first offence, the drawee bank or SDI concerned, in addition to the above sanctions under paragraph1, shall report the conduct of the customer to the BoG and the customer’s details and breach shall be recorded in a dud cheque register maintained at the BoG.
- Where a customer issues a dud cheque on a third occasion within three (3) years of the first offence, the drawee bank or SDI concerned, in addition to the above sanctions under paragraph 1 and 2, shall again inform the BoG. The BoG shall ban such a customer from issuing cheques within the country for a minimum period of three (3) years.
- Additionally, BoG, shall ban such a customer from accessing new credit facilities from the banking system for a period of three (3) years.
These measures have been put in place to prevent the issuance of dud cheques, which affects business transactions and timely receipt of funds.
Izwe will stringently comply with all of these measures to protect our customers from the risks that dud cheques can pose to their business or personal finances.
For more information, please feel free to contact us.